[Jikanu]

On Adams and Frankphillips I saw her. A young beauty, anyone could see that. I had seen her a few times in the past, but with my busy life I have never been able to take the time to talk to her. She sat in one of the many empty tables outside of Starbucks sipping a french vanilla cappucino. The drink she would always buy when she went there, not that I was a stalker or anything... I would see her there, when I was in a hurry to work.
Yesterday though, out of all the uncountable times we had met, we bumped into eachother. By some miricle it started us talking. Me, a young business man going nowhere, and her... a model yet to be found. Or... possibly a singer. Her voice was heavenly, sweet and gentle. And her lips, a gentle pink that looked soft... "Move it!" Someone snarled behind me.
Shooken back into the reality, cruel reality, the light had changed and me, and the many other men in suits filed to work like ants. I took one last look at the angel outside the coffee shop. Right when she looked up, our eyes met. She smiled and waved at me, but before I could wave back I was lost in the flow of busybodies and pennypinchers.
Oh, I did see her from time to time... but my life had suddenly become even busier. My "young business man going nowhere" was no more. Still young but I was moving up in the corporate world. I barely had any time to stop by and get coffee, but when I did she always seemed to be there. We'd chat, with the short time I had, then I'd rush off to work.
Weeks... months went by like this until I finally worked up the courage to ask her out on a date.
She accepted. My heart jumped in joy. I wanted to hug her. Wanted to dance. I felt like I was a highschool boy again who got a date with the head cheerleader.
We ate at Garfields, not a highclass restraunt but the food was great. She had talked about wanting to go there doing one of our conversations at Starbucks in the past.
"What do you do for a living" I asked her after we finished eating.
"I'm going to college for childcare. I want to be a kindergarden teacher... and when I'm older start a daycare. Mainly for single and teenage mothers." She said, blushing. "It's a silly dream, it wont bring me alot of money but I want to help the future, the children, to be better people for a better future.
I smiled and shook my head "No, it's a wonderful dream. It's better than being a busybody, another ant in the system, like me." I laughed.
I payed for the meal and we left, my car was quite a bit away. We talked on the way to it, laughing as if we were children again.
But suddenly a man appeared in front of us. I remeber it like it was yesterday... he pulled a gun out. Demanded my wallet and her purse. But then he spotted her. He grabbed her wrist. She screamed. I lunged for his gun. It fell to the ground. Our fight is a blur now... but somehow he got the gun... some how long enough to pull the trigger. It was aimed at me... it should have been me... but she nocked me out of the way. The boy who had shot her ran.
I held her close to me. People began to run out of the reatraunt to see what had happened. I could hear them yelling to call for an ambulance. Through all of the comotion around me I continued to hold her. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." I sobbed.
"It's alright... It's not your fault..." she said weakly as she brushed a tear from my cheek with her blood stained hand. I gently grabbed her hand and held it, not wanting to let her go. "Don't become to much of a busybody... or a pennypincher..." she smiled. "I watched you... every day... sometimes waited for you to come in... even before we talked. There was just something... something about you. You have a wonderful future ahead for you... don't let it consume you Ryan..."
Her grip on my hand began to weaken, "Dont go... please dont go..." I held on to her, I could hear the siruns coming closer.

Today is the fifth anniversary of that night. Crystal is still in a coma, I go to talk to her every day. The doctors say she's getting better and might wake up from it soon. They also say she was lucky, the bullet barely missed a major artery that could have made her bleed to death. She nearly did... but she held on. The crook was never found.
I went up even further in business and ran an idea of starting a day care for single and teen mothers. It went through. It's named "Crystal DayCare. The start to a better future". It's... like a gift for her when she gets out of the coma. But that night.. i'll never forget when I nearly lost the angel I had just began to hold.